Eighteen Charged Following Multi-Year Fraud Investigation

U.S. Attorney’s Office
November 23, 2009

Northern District of Ohio(216) 622-3600

Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, today announced that a federal grand jury returned a 23-count indictment charging 18 defendants with violating federal laws following a multi-year investigation into fraud relating to identification documents.

Named in the Indictment are the following individuals:

Vitaly Fedorchuk, 30 , of Parma, OH;

Pavlo Mostranskyy aka Pasha, 45, of North Royalton, OH

Sonya Hilaszek, 45, of Cleveland, OH

Azamjon Asadov, 34, of Cincinnati, OH;

Martynas Bojarcius, 29, of Palatine, IL;

Jaroslav Wladyka aka Bohdan Borsuk, 28, of Northbrook, IL;

Valentina Denisova, 30, of Loveland, OH;

Galyna Volochiy aka Galina Dobrova, 50, of Hackettstown, NJ;

Dmytro Karabinovych, 47, of Hackettstown, NJ;

Zdzislaw Kowalczyk, 52, of Chicago, IL;

Jahongir Masudov aka Jonik, 23, of Cincinnati, OH

Roman Matveev, 32, of Hackettstown, NJ;

Artak Serobyan, 25, of Leola, PA;

Vadym Churakov aka Michael Slepyan, 41, of Chicago, IL;

Yuriy Fedkiv aka Hennadiy Vaskevych, 43, of Chicago, IL;

Ivan Volochiy, 39, of Hackettstown, NJ;

Piotr Vitvitzky aka Petro Vytvytskyy, 45, of Stroudsburg, PA; and

Vasyl Yatskiv aka Flarid Ibragimov, 30, of Bensenville, IL.

The indictment alleges that from on or about January 24, 2007, and continuing through on or about October 28, 2009, the defendants conspired to illegally produce State of Ohio drivers’ licenses and personal identification cards. Specifically, the indictment alleges that Hilaszek, who was employed as a clerk for the Deputy Registrar of the Bureau of Motor Vehicles in Parma, Ohio, agreed to accept payment from Fedorchuk for her assistance in producing state-issued drivers’ licenses and identification cards for illegal aliens. The illegal aliens were not legally entitled to obtain State of Ohio drivers’ licenses or identification cards.

Fedorchuk charged customers approximately $800-$1,200 for an identification card, $1,300 - $1,500 for a temporary driver’s permit, and $1,500 - $3,000 for an original driver’s license. Mostranskyy, Masudov, and Serobyan were three of the intermediate brokers who assisted the illegal aliens who wished to purchase identification documents. Hilaszek received approximately $400 from Fedorchuk for each license or identification card she produced for his customers.

The indictment also alleges that Mostranskyy and Yatskiv conspired to falsely make, forge, counterfeit, mutilate, or alter a passport. Mostranskyy charged a fee for the purchase of a passport that could be used as an identification document. Yatskiv obtained a genuine passport, and utilized a computer, scanner, and color printer to modify the passport.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Matthew B. Kall following investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Ohio State Highway Patrol, Ohio Department of Public Safety-BMV Investigations Section, Immigration and Customs Enforcement of the United States Department of Homeland Security, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigative Division, and Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General. Substantial assistance was provided by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Organized Crime Department and the U.S. State Department Diplomatic Security Service. The investigation is ongoing.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

If convicted, the defendants’ sentences will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendants’ prior criminal records, if any, the defendants’ roles in the offenses and the unique characteristics of the violations. In all cases, the sentences will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases they will be less than the maximum.